The plaintiffs in the first case are 16 natives of Chechnya, relatives of six men and two women who "disappeared in or around Grozny between 2000 and 2002 after being apprehended by groups of armed men whom the applicants believed were Russian military or security forces," EHCR said in a statement Thursday.

The women were later found dead with signs of violent deaths and the men are still listed as missing.

Tumisha Saidova, the second plaintiff, has not seen her son Ramzan Saidov since August, 2002, when he was taken from his home by armed men in masks and camouflage.

In both cases, the plaintiffs claimed that their relatives had disappeared after being detained by Russian soldiers and accused authorities of not carrying out a proper investigation into their disappearances.

In the first case the Court found Russia guilty of violating several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the victims' right to life and right to liberty and security.

The ECHR also ordered the Russian government to pay the 16 relatives a total compensation of 523,000 euros.

The Court found no violation under the right to life in the case of Tumisha Saidova but ruled that the authorities had failed to effectively investigate the disappearance of the her son and ordered Russia to pay her 10,000 euros.